Exam Day & Freedom to Explore Smalltown Germanic Culture!

Hanging out in the "school" hallway. Our classes were at a distance learning center, a small three-story building in Bregenz.

Another room to hang out in, the break room. I miss the instant coffee/hot chocolate dispensing machine! The cups were 50 Euro cents of delicious.

The back yard of the school, also the smokers' station.

My first exam was interrupted by a procession going to the church around the corner. My teacher said it was a valuable educational experience, and we all ran outside to watch it go down the street. It was very somber. There was a slow drum beat and a man reciting Latin verses through a portable loudspeaker. It was for Corpus Christi I think. After a short service of beautiful music (which we could also hear from the classroom) the procession marched back down the street to much more lively music.

Advanced German Language classroom

German Culture classroom

One crazy adventure...
After my second and last exam, I went to catch the first of many trains to Werfen, Austria! I rode the first train for about 15 minutes and then transferred in Feldkirch. The Railjet train I was going to take from Feldkirch was about 30 minutes late. This was devastating. This threw off all my planned trains to get to the small town of Werfen. I got to Salzburg and had to wait 40 minutes for the next train to Werfen. It was getting dark. I was traveling alone and had planned to arrive at my hotel in Werfen before nightfall. The sun set just as the train pulled up. It wasn't long before everything out the windows was pitch black! I rode this train for nearly an hour. At each train stop on the way there, the stations progressively got smaller, less lit, less busy. About 40 minutes into the ride, the train was empty save one other girl, who got off at the station before Werfen. It bothered me that I could see no lights out of the windows, not even stars. (Leaving the next day I realized that the tall tall Alps were right next to the tracks and they had blocked out the stars.) I had a thought of riding the train to the end and catching one back to Salzburg, a city I was somewhat familiar with. But it was late, who knew if there would be a train going back to Salzburg this night. I was comforted by the fact that Austria is the safest country in Europe, plus I had a big knife and wasn't afraid to use it! Arriving two hours later than I had planned...Werfen's station was empty but open...I searched for a number for a taxi but didn't see anything. I figured this town was probably too small for a taxi service. (It really was itty biddy.) Fortunately, I had planned on walking from the train station to my hotel anyway, so I had studied the Google maps route for it. The problem was, there were no street lights, no street signs. I was lost and getting frantic! It was already past 10 at night, an hour after I had told the hotel I would arrive. I prayed they would be open when (or if!) I found them. My only piece of mind came from a light coming through the kitchen window of someone's house. I knew it would be crazy, but I was desperate...I grabbed a stick and reached up to the window to knock and get someone's attention. It worked! A younger guy and his father opened the door to me. I was so exhausted, so worried, and so relieved! I tried to spit out a question in German but it didn't work. haha. I paused, collected my thoughts and again asked if they knew of the hotel I was looking for. They surely did, and told me (in German! luckily, I wasn't too tired to comprehend what they said) how to get there. They reassured me that it would be fine for me to walk. It would only take ten minutes, and it was easy: just walking up the main road. I am so grateful to them. They were so patient and kind! Everyone else in Werfen who I talked to was the same. I love that little town! I walked quickly to my hotel (it was a dark walk) and found it with no problems. The woman at the reception killed me with kindness! (Another successful conversation entirely in German-go me!) She had waited up for me, thinking that maybe my train had been late (yes, very late). She said she had worried about me and was glad I made it. She gave me a bottle of carbonated water and told me everything I needed to know about visiting the Eisriesenwelt (Ice Cave) the next day, which was very helpful. She was very sweet. I felt much better after talking to her. That night in my room I relaxed, chatted with Adam, and watched a little bit of soccer before finally falling asleep, in anticipation of my visit to the world's largest ice cave!